PV Sindhu's Quest For A Sixth Badminton World Championships Medal Begins At Home

PV Sindhu's World Championships cabinet is already full. One gold, two silver, two bronze sit inside it, almost every medal paired up. Only a second gold stands between her and a perfectly matched set, and she has that chance now at the Badminton World Championships 2026. And there is no better stage to chase it than in front of the home crowd.

Seven years have passed since that gold in 2019, but Sindhu arrives in New Delhi with fresh belief. A historic title at the Japan Open in July gave her the boost she needed after a prolonged dip in form and a string of injury struggles.

Talking about her Japan Open win and how important it was, Sindhu said in the press conference, "I definitely think it gives me a lot of confidence, and of course I am really looking forward to the World Championships to start. Since it's happening in India, I think it's really exciting. After the Japan Open, winning that gave me a lot of boost and a lot of confidence."

The tournament returning to India after 17 years adds another layer to the moment. Sindhu was a young girl the last time India hosted a major badminton event, watching from the stands without fully grasping its scale.

"I used to come watch matches from morning until evening. At that time, it was just like you get to see a lot of top players, but you don't know how serious it was back then. Now when I look back, I got to experience the best. I'm sure playing the World Championships now after 17 years in India, the whole journey has been quite memorable," she said.

Five medals at the World Championships have shaped her differently each time, but Sindhu points to the losses, not just the wins, as the moments that toughened her the most.

"When I lost the 2017 World Championships, I played a very hard fought match, one hour fifty minutes against Nozomi Okuhara in Glasgow, and I lost 20 to 20. In 2019, I was very hard on myself because I was almost there but couldn't get that gold. It was just a matter of one or two points. I think that made me much stronger," she said.

An Easy Draw On Paper, A Tough Test Waiting

Seeded ninth, Sindhu opens her campaign against Ireland's Sophia Noble, the world No. 141. Should she advance, the second round brings either Bulgaria's Stefani Stoeva or Canada's Wen Yu Zhang, both ranked outside the world's top 40. A potential third-round clash against China's Wang Zhi Yi could follow.

The draw only gets harder from there. Wang Zhi Yi has beaten Sindhu three times this year. Akane Yamaguchi and An Se Young remain two of the toughest tests in women's singles, and Sindhu is not underestimating any of them.

"In the top ten players in the world, everybody wants to give their best at the World Championships. We might know each other's game, but we have to make changes according to the court and shuttle conditions. Whether it is Wang Zhi, Yamaguchi or An Se Young, it will not be easy. There will be tough matches, and I need to be prepared for that," she said.

Talking about the pressure of playing at home, Sindhu does not pretend it does not exist. But she is choosing not to let it weigh on her game.

"I won't deny that there is no pressure. There is pressure, but at the same time, for me, there's nothing to lose, and I just want to give my best because I know I've trained hard and I've worked hard in my training session. I just have to go out there into the court and just give that, put my best out there, irrespective of whatever the result is," Sindhu said.

Badminton itself has changed since Sindhu first broke through, and she has had to change with it. Women's singles, she says, is no longer built around fast, attacking exchanges alone.

"Women's singles used to be more attacking and faster paced. Now it is more about long rallies, patience and staying on court for a longer period. I'm much more experienced now in terms of how to deal with different conditions on court. Sometimes there is drift, sometimes you cannot control the shuttle the way you want. You have to change accordingly and make things convenient for yourself," she said.

Behind that adaptation is a support system Sindhu has built carefully over the past two years, bringing sports science, physiotherapy and strength conditioning together under one roof.

"I've had a really good team around me, and it took some time to build that team. When we got the whole team together in terms of sports science, physio and trainer, we sat down, noted down what is required and discussed with the coach (Irwansyah Adi Pratama). I think that played a very major role. It's not just the tournaments or the matches people see, it's what happens behind the scenes," she said.

Sindhu takes the court on August 17 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. A second gold is the one piece still missing from her collection. Could New Delhi be the city that finally completes it?